Flying Colors
by BlondeBombshell99
Summary: Episode tags for 3x13 Wilderness Training Survival. A missing scene and an ending with a little more closure.


"Looks like he was building a sled." Riley's desperation could be heard in her strained voice. "If we finish building it, we can drag him out."

Bozer nodded hastily, "Let's do this." He turned to his best friend. "Hang in there, Mac. We're gonna get you out."

Mac nodded shakily, his face contorting as he tried to keep himself under control. His senses were on high alert. He could feel the bullet in his leg, shattered pieces of bone, a grinding cold from the inside out. He could hear the wind in the grass, Riley and Bozer's hushed conversation, a river in the distance. Water.

"What's that, Mac?" Suddenly Bozer was standing over him, saying something, concern etched in every familiar feature.

Mac squinted up at his friend. Had he said something? What was it? He tried to speak, but words wouldn't form.

"Riley? Riley!" Bozer shouted frantically for the third member of their little party. "I think something's wrong with Mac!"

"Of course there's something wrong with him, Bozer, he got shot!" Riley half-turned from working on the sled. Her anxiety for Mac was making her usual sarcastic self even more so.

"Gee, thanks for telling me something I didn't already know, Riley."

"Boze…Riley…" a whisper from their injured friend focused Bozer's attention and brought Riley to his side.

"Yeah, Mac, we're here." Riley didn't know why she was trembling so much. She wasn't the one who had just gotten shot. "What's the matter?"

Mac gritted his teeth against the waves of pain. "Gotta…get out…"

Riley's eyes glistened. "Mac, I promise. We are gonna get you home."

The way Mac looked at her made her hope with all of her heart that she could keep that promise. She and Bozer went back to work on the sled. As they worked, she stole glances at the prone figure stretched out on the cold ground. The agony he was in was evident from his lack of control. He was trembling, and every once in a while a cry of anguish would break the quiet. It wasn't difficult to load him on the sled, and at first it was easy to pull.

Riley kept thinking back to another time she had pulled someone on a makeshift sled - that one scientist guy across the desert. But that time Mac had been the one pulling with her, not the one being pulled. This time…she glanced behind her. He was quieter now, except for occasional moans as they traversed the rough terrain. He wasn't shaking anymore. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Are you okay?" Bozer's concerned voice cut through Riley's thoughts.

"What?"

Bozer's dark eyes searched her own. "I said, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She grunted and yanked harder when the sled got caught on some roots.

"Riley, we're gonna get there. He's gonna be fine. All we gotta do is get to Fred's."

"I know. I promised." Riley glared at Bozer as though he were the one she was fighting against.

"Riley, I am not the enemy here!"

Riley sighed. He was right. It was unfair of her to take out her frustration on him. "Boze, I'm sorry. It's just…"

"Yeah, I get it, Riley. But lashing out isn't gonna help Mac."

A frantic scream from the back of the sled had them both at Mac's side in a second. His blue eyes were wide and he thrashed about on the sled.

Bozer had that look on his face - that Mac's-hurt-and-I-don't-know-how-to-help-even-though-I-want-to look. "He's turning blue, Riley!"

"Mac? Mac!" Riley hated it when her voice went all squeaky.

An indistinct mumble was all she got in response. She put her hand on his face. His skin was cold and clammy. "Mac, can you hear me? Mac, we need to stay with us here! Mac!" She slapped his face. "Mac!"

Mac's mind jolted. Cold. Hot. Hurt. "Riley?" His eyes drifted to the other face. "Boze…"

Bozer seemed to melt. "Dude, I thought you were going nuts."

Mac started to shake again as he gathered what was left of his control. "I…I will be soon."

Bozer's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "Say what now?"

"Shock…cold…"

Of course. Shock would bring delirium. Mac had staved off the shock as long as he could, keeping his mind under control, but even his mind had a limit.

Riley's voice betrayed her fear. "How do we stop that?"

"Can't…ah!" Mac's body twisted in pain and his teeth began to chatter. His eyes clouded. "Cold…so…cold…water…"

Riley was out of her coat in a flash, tucking it under Mac's head. She leaned over him, taking his hands in hers. "Mac, I promised. We're gonna get you home. You hang on, okay?"

Mac locked eyes with her and nodded shakily. He had stopped shaking, and he knew that wasn't a good sign, but he didn't mind so much now. He was warmer now…in fact, everything was warmer. He was suddenly very tired, and the darkness was far more welcome than the pain and cold of consciousness. _

Riley gasped, bolting upright in her bed. Actually, not her bed.

"Easy there, kiddo, take it easy."

"Jack?" Riley recognized the voice before her eyes focused on the figure eyeing her with considerable concern.

"Who else do you think it'd be?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe Elwood?" Riley snapped, swinging her legs over the side of the hospital bed.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I've got to find Mac."

"Mac's fine. You get back in that bed and lay quiet. You've got a nasty gash there, young lady. No heroics for a few days. Now git back there." Jack raised his eyebrows and nodded towards the bed. His voice was quiet and calm but firm.

Riley stopped moving as she stared into Jack's face. Sometimes she forgot that she could allow herself to be vulnerable with him. She took a deep breath and let it out.

"That's more like it," Jack sat next to her on the bed and put an arm around her.

Subdued, Riley leaned into the man she considered her father. Her lip quivered. "How is he?"

"He was in shock. Borderline hypothermic. Badly dehydrated. But those are the easy fixes, apparently."

"There's a hard fix?"

"When he got shot, his bone took most of the impact. Whatever the medi-babble word they used for it, the short of it is that it's shattered. Apparently bones aren't made to be shot at close range." Jack's voice was steady, but Riley could detect the harsh angry undertones. "He's gonna need surgery eventually, but they want to wait til he's out of the woods."

"Jack!" Riley blanched. "That's a terrible pun!"

Jack's reaction told her he hadn't meant it as such. "Man, I am so sorry! I'm just repeating what the doctors told me!"

Riley almost laughed. If she wasn't so exhausted, she might have. Instead she simply smiled softly at Jack. "It's okay." She laid her head on his shoulder, letting his presence chase away the panic of the last few hours.

"Hey."

She felt his voice more than heard it. "Hm?"

"You did good, Riley. You saved Mac's life, you know that, right?"

Riley pushed away from him for a moment so she could see his face. She gazed into his eyes, reading the depth of his love for her, and her eyes filled with tears. She nodded once. She knew. It didn't change the fact that every time she thought of seeing Mac bleeding on the ground and hearing him scream in pain, the fear she had felt then forced its way back into her mind.

Jack understood. "Riley, he's safe and he's gonna get better, because you and Boze kept your wits about you. You brought him home. I am so proud of you, Riley. Real proud."

Riley held his gaze for a few seconds more, then returned her head to his shoulder. She'd kept her promise. She had gotten Mac home. She and Bozer. And that was all that mattered now.

Jack leaned over and whispered into Riley's ear. "And just for the record, you passed. With flying colors."

AN: This is my first fanfic ever. Years ago I tried writing stories, but could never get them to go anywhere but I found my clique writing poetry. I've lurked around for a while and since I love stories I thought I'd try my hand at a scene or two.

I loved this episode. I'm a huge fan of the original MacGyver, and I thought this episode did a great job doing what the original did - put Mac in a normal situation that turned bad in which he had to MacGyver his way out. I love the fact that Riley and Bozer drew inspiration from him as well.

With the whole George Eads leaving, I'd love to see something reminiscent of the original show. What gave the original series its charm was that the characters' lives were linked to the actors' lives. Original Mac was from Minnesota, loved hockey, and supported environmental causes because Richard Dean Anderson did. Original MacGyver finished with Mac finding out he had a son and leaving to spend more time with him because Richard Dean Anderson wanted to spend time with his daughter. I'd love to have Jack find out he has a kid (because that's part of the reason George is leaving) and leave to spend time with her/him. I know it would never happen, especially because of the hinting at the end of this episode. However, the storylines/scripts are getting so much better that I'm more expectant of a good write-out.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading. This was more for me than anyone else, but I hope you enjoy it as well and that it doesn't intrude into your fictional world too much. :)

Live happily,

~Blondie


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